Skulking
by teshara
Summary: When Harry gets mixed up in a companion bonding ceremony he finds himself bound to Draco. Bickering. Foxes. Unexpected attractions. Happy ending.
1. Chapter 1

For: Dragontara

* * *

"Where are you going?" Ron whispered in the darkness of the dorm room.

"Malfoy's up to something," Harry whispered back. "I just saw him outside."

"You're out of your mind." Ron turned over in his bed, the mattress squeaking.

"Don't you want to know what he's doing sneaking around in the dead of night?"

"No."

Harry made a huffy noise, but Ron just ignored him.

"I'm not going anywhere, either," a flat voice came out of the dark.

Harry snorted in the direction of Neville's bed. "Fine. I'll go by myself."

"You didn't ask me!"

"Would you like to go, Nigel?" Harry sighed.

"No, but thank you for asking," a cheerful voice replied.

Harry forgot all pretense of being quiet as he rose from his bed and started hunting under his bed for his shoes.

He dressed quickly and left the seventh and eighth year boys' dormitories, throwing his invisibility cloak around his shoulders. He quickly moved through the Gryffindor common room, being careful not to wake a pair of third years that had fallen asleep in front of the fireplace, and out the portal into the castle.

He navigated the moving staircases and the halls as fast as he could without calling attention to the fact that he was out, and curfew was hours ago.

He left the castle and entered the Forbidden Forest where he had seen Malfoy poking around before he left the Gryffindor tower. It had begun to rain and Harry was cursing himself for bringing his invisibility cloak and not a regular, weatherproof one when he spotted a footprint in the mud slowly filling up with water.

He moved fast, knowing any trace of Draco could be quickly washed away, but he didn't have to go far, and nearly stumbled onto Draco.

The tiny clearing was thick with detritus and the ground was getting spongy as the water soaked into it.

Draco was swearing and trying to light a candle, finally pulling out his wand and casting a bubble spell around it. He shrugged off his robes and Harry was taken aback as Draco stood naked in the rain, the moonlight making his hair glow.

He pulled a pot out of his robes and started applying symbols to his skin, chanting as he went. The hair on the back of Harry's neck stood up as the spell radiated from the candle flame, causing it to burn hot and white. Tendrils of smoke curled out, exploring everything in the clearing, several of them wrapping around Draco.

Draco started doing a little stomping dance along with his chanting, the air humming with electricity.

Harry fought the urge to run, but soon found that he didn't have a choice. The tendrils of smoke had curled around his ankles and were holding him fast.

Harry swore under his breath and tried to wiggle his feet, hoping the tendrils would loosen themselves, but they had him in an iron grip, and snaked their way up his legs to hold him tighter.

He swore loudly now and Draco turned as Harry's cloak slipped as he fought the smoke.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked loudly.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Harry demanded.

"I don't see why that's any of your business!" Draco snapped.

"You're out after curfew!" Harry blurted out, as if that was a reasonable answer.

"I have permission. Do _you_?" Draco asked, his head tilting slightly.

Harry said nothing, but since Draco seemed more irritated than annoyed, he figured that there wasn't any danger. Especially if he had permission to be out here, which niggled at Harry's mind.

"Why would you have permission to be in the Forbidden Forest, by yourself, at night?" Harry growled.

"First of all, because I'm an adult, you idiot. It's not like we're regular students. We don't have the same rules as the underclassmen. Second, because I cleared it with McGonagall and I'm pretty sure the whole faculty knows."

"What are you doing?" Harry asked.

"I'm summoning my life-familiar," Draco said, crossing his arms. "And apparently yours as well. Good job, Potter."

Harry scowled back at Draco. He didn't know the ceremony, but he did know about the result. He hadn't thought about getting another familiar after Hedwig died. He knew he'd eventually get another owl, but he wasn't ready for another pet. He didn't want one.

But from the sound in the underbrush, he was getting one whether he wanted to or not.

A pair of glowing gold eyes shone out of the darkness and blinked slowly. Another pair opened next to them, creating an eerie image in the candlelight.

Draco knelt on the ground as the smoke began to dissipate. "Come on. No need to be shy."

Two foxes crept into the clearing, sniffing at the air.

"Aren't you two handsome?" Draco preened. "No one's going to hurt you. Come on…"

One of the foxes picked his way across the forest floor until he got to Draco. He sniffed the wizard's hand and gave it a playful nip.

"Cheeky!" Draco exclaimed as he reached out and scratched the fox behind his ears. It trilled happily at him and sniffed at him more intently.

The second fox walked up to Harry and sat at his feet, watching the scene in front of them. Harry looked at the fox, but it didn't make any movements. He reached down and patted it on the head and it leaned into Harry's touch.

Harry sighed and the fox looked up at him with big gold eyes. Harry found himself smiling, in spite of himself. "Well, I guess we're in this together, now, aren't we?"

The fox leaned against Harry's leg and sighed contentedly.

Harry snuck back into the Gryffindor common room, his invisibility robe tucked under his arm. Malfoy was right. Although he could still earn and lose points for Gryffindor, they were volunteer students and Harry could hardly be blamed for investigating something strange.

At least that was the excuse he was going to use if he was stopped on the way back to his common room, but he wasn't.

He padded up the stairs to the room he shared with the 7th and 8th year boys and slipped back into bed, holding the covers back and making room for the fox, who jumped up and settled in nicely.

Harry lay cuddled up against the animal, who fell asleep quickly, and to Harry's amusement, snored.

He had loved Hedwig dearly, but the owl had never been a cuddly pet. She had never shared a bed with him.

Harry carefully put his arm around the fox and it shifted itself comfortably under the weight and sighed before slipping back into sleep. Harry closed his own eyes and felt the heartbeat of the animal underneath his palm as he drifted off.

* * *

In the morning, Harry was awakened by someone whipping back the curtain on his bed.

"Well, I see you made it back—" Ron started, but the fox nuzzled its head out from under the covers and yawned at him. "What's that!?"

"Draco was doing a companion ritual," Harry said sheepishly.

"And you walked right into it." Ron snorted. "Good job."

Harry turned pink as the fox rose and crawled out from under the covers. Walking over to Ron to sniff him.

"Cor, he's big!" Ron exclaimed as he rubbed the fox's ears. "And don't you have a sweet face!"

"I don't know what the two of you are doing over there, but I never want to hear that again," Neville said as he walked into the room.

"Harry got a bonded companion," Ron said, ignoring Neville's comment.

"Did he?" Neville asked as he bustled over to the bed. "Oh, isn't he a beauty!"

The fox preened as he was lavished with attention.

"Have you told the house-elves about him yet?" Ron asked. "He's going to need food."

"I didn't think of that," Harry admitted. "But Draco has one, too, so they may know already."

"Draco has one, too?" Ron and Neville echoed, looking at each other.

"Yeah," Harry said embarrassed. "I stumbled into his ceremony and two companions showed up. This one and another little guy."

"Huh," Ron said, looking down at the fox. "Well, at least he'll have someone to play with."

"I suppose he will," Harry said. He'd never thought about what pets do during the day, but he supposed that he should have.


	2. Chapter 2

"He's beautiful!" Pansy Parkinson squealed as the little fox flipped over on its back and wiggled across the comforter to get nearer to her. "Have you named him yet!?"

"No," Draco admitted, giving the little guy a scratch. "I wasn't sure what was going to show up, so I didn't want to have something inappropriate."

"That was probably a good idea," Pansy said nodding. "But you should think of something now."

"Cutie-pie?" Draco suggested as a joke.

"Well, there's something I want to hear you calling down the halls when you can't find him," Pansy snorted. "How about Simon?"

"Nah," Draco said, brushing her off. "I don't know what it is, but he'll tell me when he's ready."

* * *

Harry walked in the Great Hall with his fox happily trotting by his side. Hermione almost choked on her oatmeal as it picked up the pace and ran to Draco's fox, squabbling happily while the students looked on in amusement.

"What have you two done?" Hermione demanded as Harry took a seat next to her.

"Accidentally ended up with a Companion," Harry said sheepishly. "Cute though, isn't he?"

"But a _fox?"_ Hermione said incredulously. "And with _Malfoy?"_

Harry felt uneasy as she said the words. "What do you mean?"

"Foxes are mated for life, Harry, and you two have a pair," Hermione said patiently.

"How long do foxes live?" Harry asked, afraid to know the answer.

"Up to fifteen years in captivity," Hermione said. "More since you're a wizard."

Harry's eyes went to Draco, who it seemed, was getting the same information from a sixth year. Draco looked up at Harry, horrified.

Then they looked at their foxes, who were playing happily.

"But they're both boys," Harry said lamely.

Hermione just snorted and went back to her breakfast.

Harry looked wildly at Ron, who just shrugged.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy," a voice called out to them. Harry turned around to see the Headmistress standing there with a stern look on her face. "Come with me, please. Bring your charges."

Both Harry and Draco looked sheepish as they slipped from their seats to follow the Headmistress to her office, the two foxes marching along behind them and play-fighting merrily.

"So," McGonagall said as soon as they were seated in her office, the pair of foxes curled near her fire, "Would anyone care to explain what happened?"

"He's spying on me!" Draco blurted out just as Harry said: "He looked suspicious, what was I supposed to do?"

McGonagall sighed and rubbed a spot between her eyes. "I believe you've been told this a million times by now, Mr. Potter. You find a teacher."

"There wasn't enough time," Harry said lamely.

"What did you think I was doing?" Draco asked in exasperation.

"I didn't know!" Harry snipped, "That's the point!"

"Stop it, both of you!" McGonagall snapped. "If I knew I'd have to put up with another year of this, I'd never have let you return to Hogwarts!"

"You don't mean that!" Harry exclaimed, and she raised an eyebrow at him that made him close his mouth.

"Well, I'd have sealed you up in your common rooms and never let you out!" McGonagall snapped back. There was a whimper and she turned to see the foxes were sitting on the floor near her, looking up at her questioningly. "I'd let you two you out, don't be silly."

The foxes relaxed and padded over to their owners, Draco's worrying the hem of his robes, and Harry's sitting primly near his feet.

McGonagall took in the scene and sighed in resignation. "We'll come up with something for you. Be prepared to move your quarters."

"Move?!" Harry and Draco exclaimed together. "Move where?!"

"You have bonded companions. That binds you two together, whether you like it or not," McGonagall huffed. "You should share quarters. It's the easiest solution."

She looked as if she were biting back a smirk at their stunned expressions.


	3. Chapter 3

"She's making you _live_ together?" Ron asked, with a surprised look on his face. "She can't do that!"

"She can't?" Hermione interjected. "Well, you go tell her, then."

Ron gave her a dirty look. "It's just not right, Harry."

"Well, right or not, it's happening." Harry threw the last of his belongings into his trunk and slammed the top shut. "I'm going to meet them now. Want to come?"

"Of course we do," Hermione said firmly before Ron could open his mouth. "We can help you settle in."

The three of them left Gryffindor Tower dragging their feet, and walked somberly to the place where McGonagall had ordered Harry and Draco to meet her.

Harry was looking around the hallway, wondering where the entrance to his new quarters were when there was a noise, and he turned to see one fox jumping onto the other and the pair rolling off in an orange and white blur. He looked up to see Draco, looking just as hopeless as Harry felt, walking alongside Professor McGonagall.

"I see you've brought back up," Draco said, folding his arms.

"Don't be silly," Hermione snapped. "We'd be here no matter who he was rooming with! Isn't that right, Ron?"

Ron nodded admittedly, but didn't say anything. Harry suspected it was because Ron didn't trust his mouth at this particular moment.

"Well, here it is," McGonagall said, ignoring all of them. They were standing in front of a tapestry with a bevy of magical animals stitched expertly over a background of a forest. "You can thank the house-elves for the tapestry. I have no idea where they unearthed it from. _Orascos_!"

The tapestry rolled itself up to reveal a rather plain-looking wooden door behind it. McGonagall opened it and the foxes bounded in before everyone else, sniffing everything.

The shared area had a fireplace and an overstuffed purple velvet sofa in front of it. A nice rug was in front of the fire, no doubt for the foxes. A small box of chew toys lay nearby and the pair were already worrying a length of cotton rope with knots tied in it. There was a table with four chairs and a bookshelf half-filled with books. Two doors led from either side of the room.

"The rooms are virtually identical, and each of you has a private bath," McGonagall said with pursed lips. "I'm going to assume that you're mature enough to take it from here."

"Of course, Professor," Hermione assured her.

"I'm putting you in charge," McGonagall said to Hermione. Her eyes settled on each boy, making them squirm individually before she turned to leave.

"How do we choose?" Harry asked Draco.

There was a yip and each fox went to a door, Harry's on the right and Draco's on the left.

"Well, that was easy," Ron remarked as Harry's fox scratched at his door.

"All right, all right," Harry chuckled before turning the doorknob and revealing his room.

Ron and Draco both swore at the same time, as Draco had gone to his door as well.

The rooms had been enchanted like the ceiling in the Great Hall, but instead of just showing the night sky, it showed the sky as if you were seeing it from under the branches of trees. The room was spacious and the walls looked like the edge of a clearing.

"This is going to be dead spooky at night," Ron remarked as the fox explored the room.

Harry's bed looked as if it were made of an enormous mossy tree trunk, the covers patterned like leaves. A small pot-bellied stove was nearby, and a small cubby made to look like an animal den wasn't far from that. The fox trilled as it climbed inside.

There was some scuttling and its head popped out of the bushy top of a tree halfway up the wall. Ron laughed at Harry's expression.

"It's like you were an afterthought, weren't you?" Ron laughed at Harry's expense, and even Hermione had to bite her lip. "You're just a guest in his room!"

The fox disappeared again and Harry snorted. "Well, as long as he's happy."

There was a yelp from Draco's room. "Where did you come from!?"

The trio roared with laughter.

"I think their dens are connected somehow!" Harry called out.

"I think you're right," Draco replied in a testy voice.

"Well, think about it this way…" Hermione said grimacing. "It could be worse."

* * *

"We're leaving without you!" Draco called out as Harry blearily stumbled out of his room to see Draco, fully dressed with two foxes sitting near him expectantly.

"What?" Harry asked, rubbing his face. "Where are we going?"

"Breakfast," Draco said patiently. "It is the morning, after all."

"But it's so early," Harry complained. "They'll still have food in half an hour."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Suit yourself. _We're_ leaving."

Harry looked at the foxes, one of which was making sad eyes at him. "Oh, all right! Give me ten minutes!"

The four of them padded off to the Great Hall and breakfast. Harry was the only one seated at the Gryffindor table, but he noticed several Slytherins at theirs.

After what seemed like an eternity, several Gryffindors made their way to breakfast, Ron and Hermione among them.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, a frown across her face.

Harry looked around. "What? There's something wrong? What?"

"I think she's just pointing out that we've never seen you up this early. How long have you been down here?" Ron asked.

"About a half hour," Harry grumbled. "Draco and the foxes were up and this one was making eyes at me." Harry nodded at the fox curled up on the bench next to him.

Hermione giggled. "Oh, the joys of fatherhood!"

Ron had to join in with his chuckling, which annoyed Harry to no end.

The fox looked up sleepily and blinked its eyes at Hermione before putting his head back down.

"Yeah, enjoy your nap," Harry said irritated as the fox cuddled up closer to him. Harry sighed. He knew he had lost this battle.

"He's such a sweetie!" Hermione exclaimed as she scratched his head. He tilted his head at her even though he was pretending to be sleeping. "Have you come up with a name yet?"

"Ying," Harry said.

"Ying?" Hermione asked, bewildered. "Oh, do you mean yin? As in yin yang?"

"Yeah, but I'm going with Ying," Harry said firmly.

"Seriously?" Ron asked. "Just to piss off Malfoy?"

"He doesn't have to name his fox Yang," Harry pointed out. "He could name him Fred, for all we know."

"But he won't." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You don't know," Harry said hotly. "Anything could happen."


	4. Chapter 4

"Ying!?" Malfoy exclaimed. "It's not even correct!"

"It is today," Harry said coolly. "You don't know. I could be naming him after that new take-away place in Diagon Alley!"

"Really? You had a curried pizza craving last night and decided to honor the memory of a fancy snack by naming your fox after it?" Draco crossed his arms at Harry, who was seated on the sofa in front of their shared fireplace, trying to do his homework.

"It's delicious," Harry said defensively. "You can name yours whatever you want."

"Fine," Draco said, his face furious. "Come on, Orion!"

The fox yipped at Draco, but refused to follow.

"You're on his side?" Draco said exasperatedly. "Fine. Yang it is." It padded over to Draco and butted the boy's shin with the top of his head, and Draco grinned in spite of himself. "You're lucky you're so cute."

"I know," Harry said from the sofa. "But it's a gift. What can I say?"

Draco spluttered for a moment before turning red and stalking off to his bedroom, two foxes in tow. Harry smirked at the page he was working on before returning to his reading.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Ron peered over Harry's shoulder, at the thick book he was reading in the library.

"Looking up more about bonded animals," Harry groaned. "McGonagall's right. We have to live together as long as our foxes are together or we risk magical backlash from the link being severed."

"Well, I could have told you that!" Ron laughed. "Charlie did his seventh year project on companion animals. I can tell you loads of stuff!"

Harry blinked. Why hadn't he thought of that before? Of course Charlie would have had to work his way up the chain of magical creatures before he was knowledgeable enough to work with dragons.

"Is there anything we can do?" Harry asked, fearing the answer.

"Well, sort of, but you're already doing it," Ron faltered. "When you're done at Hogwarts get adjoining properties and share a yard."

"Is that it?" Harry closed his eyes.

"Afraid so, mate, but I'll tell you what. I'll write to Charlie and ask him. He might even be clever enough to cobble together an idea that no one's thought of before." Ron said, trying to cheer Harry up and failing.

"Oh good," said Harry irritated. "So either 'there's nothing to be done' or 'a miracle.'"

"You know what?" Ron said, scowling at Harry. "I don't even know why I bother. I told you to go to bed. I told you to leave it be. Did you listen? No! Because Harry – effing – Potter has to go sticking his nose into everything."

Heads turned in their direction and Harry turned red.

"And then you go off and get bonded to Draco-"

"I did _not_ get bonded to Draco!" Harry huffed.

"I think you need to keep reading that bloody book!" Ron suggested with a growl before storming off.

The words registered slowly in Harry's head and he paled. He started flipping through pages madly in the hopes that Ron was wrong.

* * *

The door opened and Draco stepped through with Yang. Harry was sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands. There was a low table in front of him and a large book sitting on it.

Draco frowned. "Does Madame Pince know you have something from the reference section?"

Yang trotted over to Ying, who was curled up by the fireplace, and nipped at his tail.

"Will you two stop it?" Harry asked exasperatedly. "How do you mate for life with someone you're always fighting with?"

Then he turned a deep red and swore. He reached forward and started flipping through the book. "You need to read this."

Draco looked at Harry suspiciously as he sat on the sofa next to him. Harry stopped ruffling through the book and poked a finger at a passage, and Draco leaned forward to read.

 _A paired binding ceremony is even rarer, the spell only working if the pair are truly life bonded. Their bond will become stronger and their companions influence will deepen. The pair will become more powerful in the ways of earth-based magic, among notable witches and wizards who accomplished this were Merlin the Magnificent, and the Founders of Hogwarts School._

"But we weren't life bonded!" Draco squeaked in terror.

"We were," Harry groaned. "The life debt. When I pulled you out of the fire."

Draco's eyes went to Harry and looked him up and down for a moment before flushing and getting to his feet. "I'm going to Floo my father."

"Good idea," Harry said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "I have Ron contacting his brother, the dragon-keeper. He did his seventh year project on companion animals."

Draco nodded, not even able to make a sarcastic comment. His eyes flicked to the pair of foxes who were trilling and nuzzling each other and rolled his eyes.

Draco left their quarters without saying anything, his fox staying behind to sleep with his mate.


	5. Chapter 5

"I'd go to the school and be outraged if I thought it would accomplish anything," Lucius said in a comforting voice to his son. "But all I can do is hire researchers to find something that might help."

"I don't want to live with Potter for the next few decades!" Draco complained, folding his arms at the image of his father in the Slytherin common room fireplace.

"At least you don't have to share a house. You just need community property between the two," Lucius said soothingly.

"But what about the bonding?" Draco asked.

"I don't see how making you a magical powerhouse is a bad thing," Lucius pointed out. "You'll both need extra training, that's for certain, but the power you have the potential of wielding is greater than most people dream about."

Draco snorted. He'd had enough of power for a while. For once in his life, he wanted to be a normal person with a normal job when he left Hogwarts. Nothing flashy. Nothing sterling. Just a nice, quiet life without Potter in it.

"Turn it into a good thing, Draco. It's easy to ignore your next-door neighbor and still let your animals play together. People do it all the time." Lucius said pointedly.

Draco sighed resignedly. "Yes, father."

"You've boarded together for a day and nothing's happened yet?" Lucius asked. "Keep it up."

"For twenty years?!" Draco exclaimed incredulously.

"There aren't sides anymore, Draco," Lucius said, looking very tired. "The war is over. It's time to let it go."

Draco looked at his father and marked how old his father had begun to look after Voldemort's death. He swallowed. "I'll try."

He trudged back to his new quarters and flopped onto the sofa in front of the fireplace. The table and book were gone. Draco supposed Harry must have transfigured it and went to return the book. Neither fox was in sight.

He must have dozed off, because the next thing he knew, he was waking up to the sound of an opening door and Harry walked out of his room.

"Oh, I thought you were gone," Draco said, rubbing his eyes. His fox slipped out of Harry's room and hopped up onto the sofa, yipping happily.

"You're not that lucky," Harry said with a snort. "But I read some more."

"Find anything?" Draco asked.

"No," admitted Harry. "Your dad know anything?"

"I wish," Draco sighed. "He's going to get some researchers on it, but in the meantime he suggests we buy adjoining townhouses and make one big backyard."

"What? In London?" Harry laughed. "So it'll be the size of two postage stamps."

"Houses aren't the only things that can magically expand, you know." Draco scowled. "You must have been out into the backyard of Grimmauld Place."

"Actually, I haven't," Harry admitted. "It's a mess, so I just concentrated on cleaning the house and decided to wait for next summer to tackle the backyard. Give me some time to think about what I want to do with the rest of my life."

Draco was silent. He knew just how Harry felt. He thought about it for a moment. Grimmauld Place is still a multi-layered monstrosity, isn't it?" he asked.

"I've only got as far up as the third floor, and haven't done the basements," Harry said, sighing.

"Seriously?" Draco was incredulous. "But you had all summer!"

"Well, at first I didn't feel like doing anything, so cleared out a couple rooms, and the kitchen and bathroom and stuck to them." Harry winced. "But people kept bothering me. Wanting to go out to dinner, or to a show, or to the beach, or a bonfire, or party, or just _something._ "

Draco nodded. He didn't feel like doing anything for quite a while when the Dark Lord fell, but at least they had a cluster of house-elves to make sure everything was tidy. "So you started staying away?"

"Yeah," Harry said sheepishly. "Stayed with Fleur Delacour's parents in France for a while. Got some sun, and not as many people recognized me there."

"I hear the food is awful," Draco said, making a face.

"You've never been to France?" Harry asked incredulously. "But you have a French surname! Your family motto is in French!"

"There hasn't been a Malfoy in France since the Napoleonic Wars," Draco snorted. "Defected and never turned back."

"Their information may have helped us win the war, you know," Harry pointed out.

"Turncoats and cowards, the whole lot of us." Draco muttered.

"Without your mother I'd never have been able to kill Voldemort," Harry said defensively, wondering why he was defending Malfoy's family to himself. "Without you being the rightful owner of the Elder Wand I'd never have been able to defeat Voldemort!"

Draco flinched at the name. "Maybe."

"I know so," Harry said, nodding his head firmly.

Draco's face twisted into anger. "Why do you always have to be such a goody-two-shoes?"

"What?" Harry asked.

Draco stormed across the room and into his bedroom, waiting for Yang to come in before slamming the door.

Ying came out of Harry's room and sat near his feet. The little fox looked up at him, and Harry shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

He figured that Harry would be smug about winning the war, but some things never changed. He was still as selfless as always, and Draco hated him for it.

He was laying in his bed in his pajamas, looking at the night sky. Yang had disappeared into the labyrinth of tunnels the house-elves had constructed in some semblance of a fox den.

Harry _was_ right. His family's actions _had_ won the war, but the world would never know it.

He preferred if the world never found out. After everything, they just wanted to be left in peace.

Well, he just wanted to be left in peace, at least. His father was still as motivated as always, ready at any moment to network his way to the top, and allying himself to Potter would guarantee that, along with helping clear the Malfoy name.

Draco rather felt like a pawn, and that was one thing he was sick of feeling like.

For a moment the idea of him and Harry living happily ever after flashed through his mind, and he came to his senses, horrified with himself.

 _'Gods, what would that even be like?'_

Another image flashed through his head and he felt a tightness in his groin. His eyes flicked up to the door, to make sure it was locked, and the silver bolt was still in place.

He reached down. After what Harry put him through in the last few years, Draco figured he owed him a few favors. His hips involuntarily thrust forward as he thought of The-Boy-Who-Lived.

Then his imagination ran wild and they did things that Draco was fairly sure would be impossible in a planet with gravity.

When he climaxed he growled, and took not a short while to catch his breath.

He shook his head. It was the spell. It had to be. But it was fine. He could just take it out on himself in private and Harry would never have to know.


	6. Chapter 6

Harry gasped as he climaxed into a transfigured pillow. The fantasy had been vivid and detailed, and Harry could almost taste the ghost of sweat on his tongue, but he supposed that it could have been his own.

He collapsed onto his bed, his pillow beneath him.

He should never have gotten that bloody book. He should have left it where it was. It was that book that put these ideas into his head.

He wanted to wrestle with Malfoy, to roll and bite and fight for dominance.

Harry had won.

He rolled over and cleaned everything before lifting the spell, releasing his pillow into its natural state.

 _Next door. I'm supposed to live next door to him, and this might only get worse._

For a brief moment he wondered if Draco was having the same symptoms that he had, and he felt himself stiffening again.

 _'Oh, shite.'_

He took himself into his own hands until he shouted out an oath and felt as if his member was going to shoot off his body completely.

His head was spinning. He didn't even know he could do that to himself.

Well, if he could do that himself, what would he actually need Draco for? Harry thought this was a reasonable idea and he cleaned himself off once again before turning on his side and falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.

* * *

The next day Harry was ready earlier than he was used to and no one had to wait for him, which made the foxes happy. Harry found that he didn't mind waking up early if Ying was going to be waiting for him.

He left his room and discovered that the foxes were giving merry chase in the parlor. One of them yipped and trotted over to Harry. He gripped the hem of Harry's robe in his teeth and began worrying it.

Harry laughed. "You're going to beat me up?" The fox looked up at him and barked before going back to the hem of Harry's robes.

"That's not very polite, you know," Harry said fondly as he reached down to scratch Ying.

"If you don't stop him now, it'll just get worse," Draco warned as he closed the door to his bedroom and swung his book bag over his shoulder.

"But he looks so cute," Harry said as there was an audible ripping noise. He looked down to see a sheepish-looking fox and torn robes. Harry sighed and repaired the robes with his wand. The fox cocked his head, examining the repaired fabric. "Don't you even think about it."

Draco snorted and patted Yang, who had climbed onto the back of the sofa, who was preening over the fact that, for the first time, he wasn't being blamed for something. Then a ray of light gleamed on the surface of Draco's Slytherin badge and Yang tried to nibble it off.

Draco 'tsk'ed at the little fox and ruffled the fur on top of his head.

Harry opened the door leading into the castle and the foxes padded out into the hallway and to the Great Hall. They disappeared for a short while, during which Harry and Draco settled into their respective House tables. And served themselves as soon as the hot plates arrived from the kitchens.

Harry was surprised to see he had a much larger selection of things when he got to the table earlier than the others. Small bowls of fruits and rustic breads, and more variety in the way things were cooked.

He piled his plate high with crispy bacon, blood sausage, poached eggs with hollandaise sauce, beans, and toast; before pulling a book out of his bag and reading.

By the time the rest of the Gryffindors arrived, several other early risers had picked the table clean of its special items and Ying had returned from wherever companions fed, and had curled up on the bench near Harry.

"How's it working out?" Ron asked, and Hermione elbowed him.

"Fine." Harry said. "Malfoy's still Malfoy, but it's not like we have very much to fight about anymore."

"I'm glad you're making the best of things," Hermione said before Ron could open his mouth and muck things up.

Harry shrugged. "We give each other our space."

* * *

Draco arched his back and thought of doing filthy things to Harry. It was driving him mad. The person he wanted to do things with was in the next room, sleeping.

Draco toyed with the idea of going and waking him up, even though he knew he'd never do it. If he woke up Harry the way he'd been thinking, he'd get a firm bite and a hexing, he was sure of it.

So, back to plan B. Thinking whatever he wanted and trying to pull his thingy off. He laid back on his pillows, covered in sweat and trying to catch his breath.

This was ridiculous.

* * *

"So, the bond is strengthening." Lucius nodded at Draco through the fireplace in the Slytherin common room. "That's good. Very good."

"Good for who!?" Draco exclaimed with a cranky look on his face.

He didn't tell his father all of the details, of course, but he had to mention something to his father before anything happened and all hell broke out.

"Think of the family!" Lucius frowned sternly at his only child.

"I am!" Draco said defensively. "And if you want there to be more Malfoys this isn't going to work!"

"I don't care how you make it work!" Lucius ordered Draco, his brows furrowed. "You're the last chance our family has for redemption. Don't screw it up!"

Draco signed resignedly. "Couldn't it have been anyone else but Potter?" Draco whined.

"Could have, but it wasn't," Lucius said huffily. "That's what you get for casting without checking the area for interference. One light spell and you'd have had a shadow the size of a crater, but you didn't bother and now you're stuck with it."

Lucius face disappeared into the embers and they began cooling down, the orange light leached from them by the ash that was building up quickly.

Draco made a disgusted look. It was obvious that he was on his own.

* * *

Harry hoped to God his room was soundproof. If it wasn't the whole castle must have heard his yell, which had been too high-pitched and undignified for his liking. Even Ying had retreated into his den.

Harry had cleaned himself off and reached for a bundle of pages near his bed. He couldn't keep the reference book that he had borrowed from the library, but Hermione had taught him a simple copying spell, and he was able to recreate the pages he needed.

He shuffled through them for the thousandth time.

His bond with Draco was going to grow. There was nothing he could do about it. The ceremony was the equivalent of an unbreakable vow.

It was only going to get worse. Something had to be done.


	7. Chapter 7

Harry and Draco tried to avoid each other as much as possible, but their charges weren't happy about this at all and started to get more aggressive and less friendly with their human companions until Professor McGonagall finally had to step in after a pair of matching bitten hands marched into the infirmary together.

Neither Harry nor Draco were happy to hear her solution: figure it out, or there would be consequences.

"Well, she's a fat lot of help," Ron said irritated as he threw a look at Draco who was taking his lunch at the Slytherin table. Ying and Yang had gone off to wherever it was that the animals of Hogwarts took their meals, and Harry was sitting with Ron and Hermione.

"You're telling me," Harry snorted.

"I don't want to have to see Malfoy every time I visit you!" Ron complained.

"How do you think I feel?" Harry groused.

"Oh, for the love of Merlin," Hermione said exasperatedly. "Stop it, both of you!" She looked at Harry seriously. "Harry, just give it up. You and Malfoy have to figure out how to make it work. Your bond is getting stronger, you're both fighting it, and your companions are paying the price. What's _wrong_ with you two?"

"Think about it this way," Ron said as a wave of guilt washed over Harry. "It's not like it only goes one way. He's feeling it too."

Harry blushed deeply. "That's not any consolation."

* * *

Things worsened over the last few weeks, with the tension between them building until neither of them could hide it.

They had both been embarrassed and horrified, but a letter from Charlie Weasley hadn't helped things any.

 _'I wish I could tell you different, but there's just nothing to be done about it. I suggest they learn how to work together. They don't have a choice.'_

Draco had incinerated the letter and stalked off, but he had to come back to their shared quarters eventually.

 _"Maybe… maybe we could trick the spell into thinking we're bonded,"_ Draco had suggested lamely, but the suggestion had worked, and Harry shed his robes so fast it had surprised Draco.

 _'This is a terrible idea,'_ Draco thought to himself as he tried not to stare at Harry's body.

"Erm…" Harry stammered. "We probably have to have some sort of physical contact or something while we… take care of business."

Draco swallowed as they took each other's hands, each of them reacting to the other's touch. Draco fought back the urge to slide his fingers through Harry's, over his wrist and up his arms; down his sides to rest on his waist…

Draco's eyes were screwed shut, feeling Harry's hand twitch and jump in his as Harry's own body reacted.

Draco lifted one eyelid to look down at Harry and he groaned. His eyes travelled up the length of Harry's body until their eyes met.

 _"Shit,"_ Harry choked out as his body reacted.

Draco's temper flared. This was all Potter's fault, anyway. He was the reason Draco's cock felt like it was going to shoot off his body when he came, his sensations were so intense.

He threw himself at Harry, knocking him back onto the sofa. The Slytherin snatched up his wand from the table and cast several lubrication spells before throwing it down and grabbing at Harry.

The dark-haired young man's eyes grew wide and he struggled, but managed to only make things easier for Draco, who found the spot he was looking for and pushed.

 _"This. Is all. Your. Fault!"_ Draco ground out from between clenched teeth in rhythm to his pounding.

Harry's back arched and Draco grabbed Harry's member and before long both of them let out a yell.

Draco was happy to hear Harry's was much higher pitched than his. He slid out of Harry and went to his room without a word while Harry struggled to sit up in the sofa.

He didn't know what else there was to say.


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione stared at Harry.

"You can't tell anyone," Harry begged her. "I have no idea how it happened!"

Her mouth twitched. It opened. It closed. Her eyebrows danced together for a moment before she burst out giggling.

Harry scowled at her as she looked at him, and it set off another peal of laughter. "Oh, you shut it."

"You know, people have been wishing you two would get a room for ages now—"

"Oh, ha _ha_ ," Harry said grumpily. He folded his arms and furrowed his eyebrows. He looked around the castle courtyard to see if anyone had overheard, but thankfully there was no one nearby.

"Harry, you are such an idiot!" Hermione said, trying to stop laughing and failing.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Where's Draco?" she asked.

"How would I know?" Harry asked her.

"Because your bond should be growing," Hermione said getting to her feet. "Stand up and let's go find Draco."

"I don't think—" Harry blustered.

"No, you don't," Hermione said crisply. "Now get hold of yourself and come on."

Harry reluctantly got to his feet and started towards the castle. He didn't feel anything strange, but his feet seemed to know the way when he thought of Draco and he felt a tugging at the base of his skull and the top of his head.

He found him in their quarters, to his relief.

Hermione shuffled Harry in before closing the door.

"Harry told me everything." Hermione told Draco as if she were announcing the weekly weather report. Draco made a strangled sound, and Harry let out a squeak before going pale. His knees wobbled and he sat down on the couch, not facing Draco who had been going over his homework before they had come in.

She cleared her throat and recited, as if from memory. "Among other famous companioned pairs of the new world, the most notable are the Wright Brothers who are known for bringing flight to the Muggle world."

"Excuse me?" Draco said, at the exact moment that Harry said: "What?"

"It just makes your magic compatible and gives it the ability to layer on top of each other, in addition to being a guardian to a pair of companion animals." She shook her head in amusement. "It's in the book Charlie sent with him. He said there wasn't any new information, but I might find the anecdotes amusing, so I didn't think of telling you about it."

"What are you saying?" Draco asked, afraid he knew the answer.

"The randy stuff? It was all you," she said with a smirk as Harry and Draco looked at her in stunned disbelief.

"But the foxes…" Harry trailed off.

"Just happen to be both male. It was a coincidence." Hermione announced, as pleased as if Christmas had come early.

"Who knows about this?" Harry squeaked.

"Everyone except you, apparently. Don't you think you would have gotten more teasing if everyone knew you were going to start banging each other silly?" Harry could swear he heard her choke back a laugh. "Only you two are dramatic enough to hear 'bonded' and start thinking with your other heads. Good grief, you two are pent up."

Harry and Draco exchanged side-glances.

"I see you two have a lot to talk about," Hermione said crisply. "I'll see you at dinner!"

She turned on her heel and left the room, closing the door firmly behind her.

You could have heard a pin drop as the door closed behind her.

Or two foxes playing somewhere in their den, deep inside the walls.

"Er…" Harry stammered.

The sound of foxes got louder.

"I…" Draco spluttered.

The pair of furry animals bounded in the room, happy to see both of their companion humans together in one place. They poked at each other with their snouts as they hopped up on the sofa.

They both turned red as the foxes nuzzled each other playfully. They licked each other's noses and looked up expectantly at Harry and Draco. When neither of them did anything they both nipped at the human boys.

"I think it means they want us to kiss." Harry said gruffly, looking anywhere besides Draco.

"I think maybe you're right," Draco said, licking his lips.

"So, what should we do?" Harry asked.

"I think maybe we should kiss," Draco said nervously. His eyes roamed over Harry. "Then, I think I should do what I did to you last night again. Twice."

The foxes hopped off the couch, knowing when their work was done.

Harry felt his body react instantly to the thought.

"I think—I think that may be the best idea we've had in weeks," Harry admitted.

Draco smiled. The first genuine smile Harry had ever seen on his face. "I'm glad you agree."


End file.
